The Texas Observer has been Texas' "Journal of Free Voices" since 1954. Focusing on Texas news, politics and culture, the Observer is the state's only source of independent, progressive journalism. The Observer consistently publishes the stories that other outlets ignore...

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The head of the Texas House chamber’s Democratic Caucus is calling on former presidential contender Gov. Rick Perry to reimburse state taxpayers for millions of dollars spent while campaigning for a shot at the White House.

Rick Perry is between a rock (with a racial epithet painted on it) and a hard place. He's the governor of a border state with an enormous Latino population, and his efforts to not demonize all of them as potential illegal immigrants have already left him castigated by the Tea Party.

More by Saul Elbein

In Texas, property rights are sacred. It's encoded into our ethos—in this state, your ranch is your kingdom. If you catch a strangers inside your fenceline, by golly, you can shoot them. No one can infringe on your land.

More by The Texas Observer

In the end, after the 13-hour filibuster and all the wrangling over rules, Wendy Davis and her fellow Texas Democrats could do only so much. In the end, it was the citizens in the gallery who made the difference late Tuesday night.